Did they go to a two-year college?

If they did, their chances of earning a degree were significantly lower than for those who went to a four-year school.

Only one in three students from Connecticut high schools who started at a two-year college earned a diploma within six years. That is worse than the nationwide clip of 40 percent.

If we just look at students who attend two-year schools full time, the graduation number jumps to 43 percent — but that’s still significantly worse than the nationwide rate of 58 percent.

Just 18 percent of part-time students who attend two-year schools finish in six years.

But Connecticut students who went to a four-year school and attended full-time were more likely to graduate than the nationwide average.

Completion rates: Connecticut vs. nationwide, by type of student

Students who attend four-year schools fare better in Connecticut, but those who attend two-year schools do not.

Category

Connecticut

Nationwide

Connecticut vs. Nation

Students Who Started at Four-Year Public Institutions

72%

63%

8%

Full-Time Students Who Started at Four-Year Public Institutions

87%

82%

4%

Part-Time Students Who Started at Four-Year Public Institutions

33%

20%

13%

Started at Four-Year Public Institutions, Went to Two-Year

50%

49%

-1%

Students Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

32%

40%

-8%

Exclusively Full-Time Students Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

43%

58%

-15%

Exclusively Part-Time Students Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

18%

—

—

Started at Two-Year Public Institutions, Went to Four-Year

32%

36%

-5%

Did they drop out in year one?

If they did, they were among the 11 percent of students from Connecticut’s class of 2008 who dropped out in year one.

After the next year, a total of 19 percent had left school.

And by 2013, one in three students had left college.

While there’s a steady rate of students dropping out in the six years after high school, the key appears to be the first two years, when 20 percent of students drop out. After that, the dropout rate slows down.

When students drop out of college

Year

No longer enrolled, cumulative

2009

11%

2010

19%

2011

24%

2012

29%

2013

32%

Were they male?

Male students finished school at a lower rate than female students.

Nationwide, males finished four-year schools about 60 percent of the time, versus 67 percent for females. In Connecticut, that number increases to 67 percent for males and 76 percent for females.

At two-year schools, Connecticut students fared worse than the nationwide average, but the margins between males and females stayed about the same.

Gender of student: Male vs. Female

Females were more likely to finish college.

Category

Connecticut

Nationwide

Connecticut vs. Nation

Women Who Started at Four-Year Public Institutions

76%

67%

8%

Men Who Started at Four-Year Public Institutions

67%

60%

8%

Women Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

36%

43%

-8%

Men Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

29%

37%

-8%

Did they start late?

If they started late, their chances of graduating were much lower, as shown in the chart below:

Age at start: Connecticut vs. nationwide

Students who start later were less likely to finish college.

Category

Connecticut

Nationwide

Connecticut vs. Nation

Students Age 20 or Younger at First Entry Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

32%

42%

-10%

Students Over Age 20 Through Age 24 at First Entry Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

24%

29%

-5%

Students Over Age 24 at First Entry Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions

35%

37%

-3%

And if they didn’t start in the first two years after high school, it’s likely they didn’t start college at all.

About 70 percent of the 2008 cohort started college right after high school. The next year, about 4.1 percent started college for the first time.

By 2010, only 1.9 percent started for the first time. But, from the data above, we know students between ages 20 and 24 are less likely to finish college.

When students start college

Some students start later — but it’s rare.

Year

Pct. Of Cohort Starting College

2008

70.1%

2009

4.1%

2010

1.9%

2011

1.1%

2012

0.9%

2013

0.8%

Did they return to college?

If they dropped out, there’s a decent chance they went back to school.

About a third of students left college in the six years after high school — but about a third of those dropouts returned at some point.

Each year, about 10 percent of dropouts came back. Of the nearly 3,000 students who dropped out in 2009, about 20 percent returned in 2010. In later years, that rates drops to just above 10 percent.

Where were they from?

Where they graduated from high school matters greatly. In fact, if they came from a high-need, low-income district, their chances of finishing college were cut by more than half.

There are so many points to make from this breakdown of the data that we’ll cover it in a bigger post tomorrow.